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1 – 10 of 637Weiwei Yue, Yuwei Cao, Shuqi Xie, Kang Ning Cheng, Yue Ding, Cong Liu, Yan Jing Ding, Xiaofeng Zhu, Huanqing Liu and Muhammad Shafi
This study aims to improve detection efficiency of fluorescence biosensor or a graphene field-effect transistor biosensor. Graphene field-effect transistor biosensing and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve detection efficiency of fluorescence biosensor or a graphene field-effect transistor biosensor. Graphene field-effect transistor biosensing and fluorescent biosensing were integrated and combined with magnetic nanoparticles to construct a multi-sensor integrated microfluidic biochip for detecting single-stranded DNA. Multi-sensor integrated biochip demonstrated higher detection reliability for a single target and could simultaneously detect different targets.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors integrated graphene field-effect transistor biosensing and fluorescent biosensing, combined with magnetic nanoparticles, to fabricate a multi-sensor integrated microfluidic biochip for the detection of single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Graphene films synthesized through chemical vapor deposition were transferred onto a glass substrate featuring two indium tin oxide electrodes, thus establishing conductive channels for the graphene field-effect transistor. Using π-π stacking, 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester was immobilized onto the graphene film to serve as a medium for anchoring the probe aptamer. The fluorophore-labeled target DNA subsequently underwent hybridization with the probe aptamer, thereby forming a fluorescence detection channel.
Findings
This paper presents a novel approach using three channels of light, electricity and magnetism for the detection of single-stranded DNA, accompanied by the design of a microfluidic detection platform integrating biosensor chips. Remarkably, the detection limit achieved is 10 pm, with an impressively low relative standard deviation of 1.007%.
Originality/value
By detecting target DNA, the photo-electro-magnetic multi-sensor graphene field-effect transistor biosensor not only enhances the reliability and efficiency of detection but also exhibits additional advantages such as compact size, affordability, portability and straightforward automation. Real-time display of detection outcomes on the host facilitates a deeper comprehension of biochemical reaction dynamics. Moreover, besides detecting the same target, the sensor can also identify diverse targets, primarily leveraging the penetrative and noninvasive nature of light.
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Yue Ding and Lingyun Qiu
Celebrity endorsement on microblogging platforms (such as Twitter or Weibo) has become a widely adopted marketing practice. Compared to its counterpart on traditional mass media…
Abstract
Purpose
Celebrity endorsement on microblogging platforms (such as Twitter or Weibo) has become a widely adopted marketing practice. Compared to its counterpart on traditional mass media, celebrity endorsement on microblogging platforms has some unique characteristics. For example, the endorsement information is usually more implicit and the endorsers tend to use different tactics so as to maximize the impact on their followers. However, these new practices have not been thoroughly investigated and the underlying mechanism by which the endorsers influence potential information receivers is not well understood. Anchored on the theory of parasocial interaction borrowed from the mass communication literature, this paper aims to reveal the underlying mechanism of celebrity endorsement on microblogging platforms. More specifically, it examines the relationship between the intensity of microbloggers’ various celebrity-following activities and endorsement effectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors designed and conducted a Web-based survey containing scales for all focal constructs and demographic and control variables. Through online and offline campus advertisement, undergraduate and graduates students who have used microblogging for at least three months were recruited.
Findings
First of all, the survey results show that the intensity of users’ celebrity-following activities on microblogging platforms has a positive effect on the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. Second, the positive effect of the intensity of microbloggers’ celebrity-following activities on the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement is mediated by the perceived parasocial interaction with the endorsers.
Research limitations/implications
Firstly, most respondents of the survey are university students. Second, because of the intrinsic disadvantage of the survey method, the causal relationship between constructs cannot be examined directly. Last, parasocial interaction/relationship is a complex theoretical construct whose influence is unveiled partially in this research.
Practical implications
First, this study found that the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement on microblogging platforms are largely affected by celebrity-followers’ online involvement. Second, this study revealed that celebrity-following activities that help enhance followers’ perceptions of parasocial interactions are particularly beneficial for endorsement effectiveness. Last, the exploratory analysis further revealed that followers’ perceptions of ingenuousness and companionship are two key sub-dimensions of parasocial interaction.
Originality/value
First, the authors verified the positive relationship between information receiver’s involvement and the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement in the context of microblogging platforms. Second, this study found that parasocial interaction fully mediates the relationship between celebrity-following intensity and endorsement effectiveness. Last, through an exploratory factor analysis, the authors further decomposed the construct of parasocial interaction into three sub-dimensions, namely, ingenuousness, empathy and companionship.
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Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of China’s Green Credit Guidelines (GCG) policy on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores of restricted enterprises and examine firm’s speculative behavior in response to the policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper views the GCG policy proposed in 2012 as a quasinatural experiment and uses difference-in-differences (DID) model to evaluate its influence on the ESG scores of Chinese nonfinancial A-share listed enterprises from 2007 to 2019. Robustness tests include the propensity score matching (PSM)–DID method and permutation tests.
Findings
The GCG policy significantly increases the ESG scores of restricted enterprises, particularly enhancing environmental (E) performance. However, it only improves the social (S) and governance (G) performance of firms heavily reliant on bank credit, indicating speculative behavior by enterprises. Increased Government attention, a higher proportion of female executives and more developed local green finance reduce speculative behavior, while executives with financial backgrounds promote it.
Practical implications
Governments should mandate standardized ESG reporting and monitor restricted enterprises, banks should monitor speculative behavior and firms should integrate ESG into their long-term strategies to support sustainable development.
Social implications
The results provide evidence of the effectiveness of implementing the GCG policy in China and offer guidance for better promoting green credit policy in developing countries, contributing to the transition toward a more sustainable future.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to explore if the GCG policy’s asymmetric effects on ESG components are due to enterprise speculative behavior and examines the factors influencing this behavior, providing insights for regulators to better implement the GCG policy to promote sustainable development.
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Xiaohua Shi, Chen Hao, Ding Yue and Hongtao Lu
Traditional library book recommendation methods are mainly based on association rules and user profiles. They may help to learn about students' interest in different types of…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditional library book recommendation methods are mainly based on association rules and user profiles. They may help to learn about students' interest in different types of books, e.g., students majoring in science and engineering tend to pay more attention to computer books. Nevertheless, most of them still need to identify users' interests accurately. To solve the problem, the authors propose a novel embedding-driven model called InFo, which refers to users' intrinsic interests and academic preferences to provide personalized library book recommendations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze the characteristics and challenges in real library book recommendations and then propose a method considering feature interactions. Specifically, the authors leverage the attention unit to extract students' preferences for different categories of books from their borrowing history, after which we feed the unit into the Factorization Machine with other context-aware features to learn students' hybrid interests. The authors employ a convolution neural network to extract high-order correlations among feature maps which are obtained by the outer product between feature embeddings.
Findings
The authors evaluate the model by conducting experiments on a real-world dataset in one university. The results show that the model outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in terms of two metrics called Recall and NDCG.
Research limitations/implications
It requires a specific data size to prevent overfitting during model training, and the proposed method may face the user/item cold-start challenge.
Practical implications
The embedding-driven book recommendation model could be applied in real libraries to provide valuable recommendations based on readers' preferences.
Originality/value
The proposed method is a practical embedding-driven model that accurately captures diverse user preferences.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inequality in career constructions among freshmen in an elite university in Shanghai, China. The authors first investigated whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inequality in career constructions among freshmen in an elite university in Shanghai, China. The authors first investigated whether rural students and those from municipalities (zhi xia shi) and provincial capitals differ in their career awareness when arriving at college. After finding the difference, the authors explored how this initial difference in career awareness evolves and influences the career construction process in the freshman year.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a complementary mixed-methods approach to monitor a cohort of students’ career construction process and the evolvement of their career awareness throughout the freshman year (n=210). Data collection included two surveys: students’ self-reflections and in-depth interviews to capture a holistic story.
Findings
The findings revealed that students differed in career awareness when arriving at college. This initial difference further evolved in the first year of college: students from municipalities and provincial capitals considered college a part of their career paths and began timely to construct their careers, whereas students from rural areas lagged behind. This study suggests that college maintains inequality, reinforcing the initial gap in career construction based on students’ family background.
Originality/value
College students differ in career prospects and associated skills when transitioning from school to work. Only a few studies have explored the role of college in shaping the career construction process during the college years. By exploring the process of career construction among freshmen, this study contributes to the growing literature on school-to-work transition and educational inequality in China.
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Modupeola Dada, Patricia Popoola and Ntombi Mathe
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to review the recent advancements in high entropy alloys (HEAs) called high entropy materials, including high entropy superalloys which are current potential alternatives to nickel superalloys for gas turbine applications. Understandings of the laser surface modification techniques of the HEA are discussed whilst future recommendations and remedies to manufacturing challenges via laser are outlined.
Design/methodology/approach
Materials used for high-pressure gas turbine engine applications must be able to withstand severe environmentally induced degradation, mechanical, thermal loads and general extreme conditions caused by hot corrosive gases, high-temperature oxidation and stress. Over the years, Nickel-based superalloys with elevated temperature rupture and creep resistance, excellent lifetime expectancy and solution strengthening L12 and γ´ precipitate used for turbine engine applications. However, the superalloy’s density, low creep strength, poor thermal conductivity, difficulty in machining and low fatigue resistance demands the innovation of new advanced materials.
Findings
HEAs is one of the most frequently investigated advanced materials, attributed to their configurational complexity and properties reported to exceed conventional materials. Thus, owing to their characteristic feature of the high entropy effect, several other materials have emerged to become potential solutions for several functional and structural applications in the aerospace industry. In a previous study, research contributions show that defects are associated with conventional manufacturing processes of HEAs; therefore, this study investigates new advances in the laser-based manufacturing and surface modification techniques of HEA.
Research limitations/implications
The AlxCoCrCuFeNi HEA system, particularly the Al0.5CoCrCuFeNi HEA has been extensively studied, attributed to its mechanical and physical properties exceeding that of pure metals for aerospace turbine engine applications and the advances in the fabrication and surface modification processes of the alloy was outlined to show the latest developments focusing only on laser-based manufacturing processing due to its many advantages.
Originality/value
It is evident that high entropy materials are a potential innovative alternative to conventional superalloys for turbine engine applications via laser additive manufacturing.
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Abstract
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Hasan Tutar, Hakan Eryüzlü, Ahmet Tuncay Erdem and Teymur Sarkhanov
This study investigates the correlation between economic development and scientific knowledge production indicators in the BRICS countries from 2000 to 2020, highlighting the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the correlation between economic development and scientific knowledge production indicators in the BRICS countries from 2000 to 2020, highlighting the importance of human resources, natural resources, and innovation. Addressing a gap in the existing literature, this study aims to contribute significantly to understanding this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing a descriptive statistical approach, this study utilizes GDP and per capita income as economic indicators and scientific data from WoS and SCOPUS databases, focusing on scientific document production and citations per document.
Findings
The analysis reveals a strong correlation between economic development and scientific performance within the BRICS nations during the specified period. It emphasizes the interdependence of economic progress and scientific prowess, underscoring that they cannot be considered independently.
Research limitations/implications
However, limitations exist, notably the reliance on specific databases that might not cover the entire scientific output and the inability to capture all factors influencing economic and scientific development.
Originality/value
Understanding this interdependence has crucial originality. Policymakers and stakeholders in BRICS countries can leverage these insights to prioritize investments in human capital development and scientific research. This approach can foster sustainable economic growth by reducing reliance on natural resources.
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In this research, neural network (NN) and genetic algorithm (GA) are used together to design optimal NN structure. The proposed approach combines the characteristics of GA and NN…
Abstract
In this research, neural network (NN) and genetic algorithm (GA) are used together to design optimal NN structure. The proposed approach combines the characteristics of GA and NN to reduce the computational complexity of artificial intelligence applications in design and manufacturing. Genetic input selection approach is introduced to obtain optimal NN topology. Experimental results are given to evaluate the performance of the proposed system.
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The primary objective of this paper is to illustrate the development of an integrated product development environment using template‐based methodology. This system would thus act…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary objective of this paper is to illustrate the development of an integrated product development environment using template‐based methodology. This system would thus act as an effective tool to reduce cost by foreseeing manufacturability constraints during concept generation phase. Concurrent engineering approach is applied to product and process development and thus the different phases of manufacturing are integrated together. The developed template system is then used for the design of a prototype using an electric motor.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, implementation of an integrated design based on templates is presented. The developed system components such as design calculations, component search, machine selection, process template retrieval and cost estimation. These components are integrated to relational databases. These databases contain all information required for integrated product and process development. Concepts used in developing the system are independent of the software used.
Findings
By using templates, the time required for new product development is drastically reduced. At the same time incorporating computer‐aided process planning into the system gives the designer a better understanding of the cost implications of the modified design with respect to manufacturing. The major challenge in implementing of such system is that any changes in the manufacturing facility have to be incorporated in the process plans stored. This can be a tedious job but can be overcome by using hybrid process planning approach instead of variant based approach.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed template systems can be further developed to be considered as infrastructure necessary for design within a collaborative engineering environment. Further research and development is necessary for implementation. Though, the result from this case is promising.
Originality/value
The paper proposes the structure necessary for the implementation of a template‐based system. The approach used in the development of the integrated systems could be used by small and mid segment industries which do not have enough resources for costly software upgrading and complex computer technologies. By using templates, the time required for new product development is drastically reduced.
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